1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems and, in particular, to a data processing system and method including a client computer system coupled to a server computer system utilizing a network. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a data processing system and method including a client computer system coupled to a server computer system for arbitrating a unique, temporary network address for the client utilizing only an access port each time the client is powered on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computer systems have attained widespread use for providing computing power to many segments of today""s modern society. Personal computer systems can usually be defined as a desk top, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that consists of a system unit having at least one system processor and associated volatile and nonvolatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, one or more diskette drives, a fixed disk storage, and an optional printer. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard (also known as a system board, system planar, or planar) to electronically connect these components together. These systems are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM""s Intellistation and IBM""s PC 300 PL and PC 300 GL.
Typically, in a business environment, many computer systems are distributed throughout various locations within the physical facilities. Keeping track of the physical location of each computer system is difficult. The difficulty in maintaining an accurate record of each computer system""s current physical location greatly increases as the number of computer systems increases. Contributing to this problem is the likelihood that at least some of these computer systems will be moved from one location to another location.
Significant costs are associated with asset tracking of computer systems in a large business environment. Manually locating and inventorying each individual system is typically the method used.
In some known systems, each computer system initially includes a static network address. These are fixed addresses which are not associated with the physical location of the computer systems.
There are many disadvantages to fixed addressing. In a system using fixed addresses, each computer system is assigned a fixed network address even though the computer system may not be currently coupled to the network. Therefore, it is often unclear how many computer systems are currently running on the network at any one time.
Today, many corporations use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) addressing to dynamically assign unique addresses to each computer system on a network. Dynamic addressing simplifies network administration because the software keeps track of the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses rather than requiring an administrator to manage the task. A new computer can be added to a network without the need to manually assign it a unique IP address. A unique, dynamic address for a client is arbitrated with the server each time the client is coupled to the network.
There are, however, several disadvantages to DHCP. DHCP generates overhead on the network because every computer needs to arbitrate a unique address every time the computer powers on. The time required for the server to assign an address depends upon the number of systems requesting addresses. For example, users may experience a long delay in the morning when many machines are simultaneously requesting addresses.
One solution to these problems has been to arbitrate an address utilizing DHCP only once during the initial installation of the system. Thereafter, when the computer system is powered on, the address assigned during the initial installation is used as a static address. This solution, however, does not support mobile users, or the movement of a computer from one physical location to another.
Therefore, a need exists for a data processing system and method for arbitrating a unique, temporary network address for the system each time the system is powered on without degrading the performance of the network.
A data processing system and method are described for providing a dynamically assigned network address to a client computer system utilizing an access port. The data processing system includes a server computer system coupled to the network. An access port is provided which is coupled to the network. The computer system is coupled to the network utilizing the access port. The computer system is then powered on. The computer system requires a network address in order to communicate utilizing the network. The computer system initially has no stored network address each time prior to being powered on. A dynamic network address is provided to the computer system utilizing only the access port each time the computer system is powering on.
The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.